Poland’s president calls upon to light candles in solidarity with Belarus

Polish president together with his wife called upon for supporting the Belarus’ political prisoners.

In connection with the anniversary of the martial law in Poland Bronislaw Komorowski called upon his fellow citizens to join him and his wife and light in their windows the candles of solidarity with the Belarusians, for whom democracy and freedom are yet unavailable. Below is the text of his statement (translation - charter97.org):

“On 13 December 1981 the Polish hopes for freedom and democracy were brutally crashed with tanks and armed regiments of military and police. The leaders of the democratic movement were arrested and sent to prisons. In Silesia, Gdansk, in Krakow and other cities the protests were crushed by force, there were killed and wounded. Today Poland is a free and democratic country, a country where participation in a demonstration is not a courageous heroic deed anymore, but a right, available for everyone, regardless of his views. However on the day of the anniversary of the introduction of the martial law we must remember those for whom freedom and democracy are not yet available today. It is so since prisons, beatings, family prosecutions remain a painful fate of many freedom fighters in many countries, including Belarus, which is close to the Poles. In this situation, every gesture of solidarity, the memory, which shows that they are not alone is important to them.

On 12 December at 5 p.m. me and my wife for yet another time lit a symbolic candle in the window of Belweder. A candle of memory of the victims of the martial law, which was at the same time a symbol of our hope and solidarity with Belarus and other nations fighting for freedom. We want to address the media to put the symbol of a candle at the first page of newspapers, magazines’ covers, web-pages, TV captions.

Remembering the victims of the martial law, we ask you to remember about those, for whom the night without freedom and democracy has not yet ended. Let the solidarity gesture coming from us, the Poles, strengthen the belief that freedom cannot be restrained, it cannot be censored or beaten with a police stick. It cannot be locked in a prison. Let’s give hope to the ones who need it so much today. That is exactly what solidarity means”.

Bronislaw Komorowski is going to meet his friends in the prison in the Warsaw Bialolenka, where he was sent after the arrest on the first day of the martial law: “I hope that our families – the families of the former prisoners of the martial law time – will send parcels for those, who today also undergo repressions for their fighting for freedom in Belarus. We are going to do that not because of our positions, but since we fought and keep fighting for freedom in 1981 and also today in 2012…”